Ubisoft Is Using Watch Dogs 2 To Inspire The Next Generation Of White Hat Hackers

Ubisoft is working with a bunch of up-and-coming hackers to help teach them the ways of hacking for the betterment of mankind. They've teamed up with Major League Hacking to give students an opportunity to see how cybersecurity and hacking can change the world.

According to a press release sent out by Ubisoft, the MLH challenge will see students building projects themed or inspired by Watch Dogs 2, the upcoming open-world hacktion game by Ubisoft, to learn about and become more educated in the realm of cybersecurity.

The project isn't just for giggles and aimless promotion. There's actually some edutainment aspects involved that students are being encouraged to take into the real world of game development, software development and enterprise security. The co-founder of Major League Hacking, Jon Gottfried, explained what the purpose of the workshop challenge was for the students, saying...

The type of hacking that takes place at Major League Hacking events is all about hacking in the sense of finding creative solutions, we believe that learning cybersecurity skills is the first step to understanding how to secure your own applications and data as a developer.

The event will take place at various universities across the United States, with Ubisoft providing copies of Watch Dogs 2 for MLH to use as part of a capture the flag challenge between competing students. It's basically a little bit of entertainment and a little bit of inspiration. You can even participate in the hackathon challenge by registering over on the Watch Dogs 2 website.

There is a list of colleges that MLH and Ubisoft will be attending across the nation for the hackathon, starting on September 16th at Cornell University and ending on November 5th at Northern Illinois University.

• September 16: Cornell University

• September 17: Virginia Commonwealth University

• September 23: John Hopkins University

• September 24: Dartmouth College

• September 24: The Cooper Union

• September 30: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

• September 30: University of California, San Diego

• October 1: Virginia Commonwealth University

• October 1: Wellesley College

• October 1: Texas A&M University

• October 7: University of Massachusetts Amherst

• October 7: Kent State University

• October 14: Rice University

• October 14: University of Oregon

• October 15: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

• October 21: York College of Pennsylvania

• October 21: Harvard University

• October 22: Miami Dade College

• October 29: University of Houston

• November 4: Trent University

• November 4: Washington University in St. Louis

• November 5: Northern Illinois University

Watch Dogs 2 centers around a group of hackers called Dedsec. The game focuses on hacking into vehicles, hacking into security systems, hacking into personal electronics and corporate databases. The game takes a more rebellious, anti-authoritarian turn compared to the first Watch Dogs, which was more about a personal vendetta for the lead character Aiden Pearce.

The new game features all new 3D printed weapons that players can build to combat enemies, new melee tactics and mechanics, improved stealth, improved hacking, and a rebuffed multiplayer mode with seamless integration with other users.

The hackathon team-up between Ubisoft and Major League Hacking will basically come to a close just ahead of Watch Dogs 2's launch on November 15th for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.